Pencil sharpener



E June 16, 1931.

v. c. LUPPERT 1,810,284

PENCIL SHARPENER Filed Dec. 3 Sheets-Sheet l gwueml oz June 16, 1931. v, c LUPPERT 1,810,284

PENCIL SHARPENER Filed Dec. 14, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i6 is xa if as I 20 1a V C. Zapper-8,

June 16, 1931. v. c. LUPPERT 1,810,284

PENCIL SHARPENER Filed Dec. 14, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 j g Z" i I I 101 L00 Q 'i O gmenl'o'a atkozmqs Patented June 16, [1 931 VALENTI E c. .nurrnn'r, or wILLIAMsroRr; PENNSYLVANIA PENCIL snnnrnnnn Application filed December 14, 1929. Serial No. 414,077.

This invention relates to improvements'in pencll Sharpeners, and more espec1ally to a;

novel pencil sharpener either of the hand operated rotatable type or stationary type. 8,. The primary object of the invention is to furnish a pencil sharpener of this character which is especiallydesigned to permit ordinary safety razor blades to be used as the cutters thereof, so that dull safety razor blades which are ordinarilydiscarded, may beutilized for aconsiderable period of time for pencil sharpening purposes. v

' Another object of the invention, is to provide a pencil sharpener adapted to'u'se as cutters, the conventional. double edged flexible razor blades. r

'Astill further object is, to' furnishsuch a pencil sharpenerin which .novel'means are employed for clamping "and holding the razor blades in'proper position" to function V as cutters in the device. w

Another; object is to provide sharpener of this type,including a novel lmock-downcasing, made up of a number of Y .5 sections, which may be'readily attached to the supporting frame; one of these sections being readily removable at all times to permit quick access to the blades for adjusting or replacing the latter, and another section being'quickly 0 detachable to allow for the discardingof pencil shavings.

With the foregoing {objects 1 outlined and with other objects in-view which'will appear as the description proceeds, the invention 2.3. consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accom- V panying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referringjto the drawings, A Fig. 1 is a side levation of a rotatable embodiment of my improved sharpener. Fig. 2 is an endlelevation of thesame. Fig. .3 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line -4: of'Fig. 3. i

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional-view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3. p I

Fig. 6' is a developed perspective view of the parts forming the, casing of this device.

a pencil Fig.

tionar lm'p'ro 7 is a vertical sectional view of a stay type pencil sharpened in which my red cuttlng head is incorporated and vertically arranged.

Fig.

of the 8 is a similar view of a modified form stationary type with the cutting head positioned horizontally instead of vertical.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, 7 designates asu pporting standard having a base 8 which may be secured-to any suitable supporting surface. by means of screws or the like.

A bearing 9 is mounted at the top of the standard, and its inner end enlarges into a portion 10, which-carries a ring l-l having an annular groove 12 in its periphery, w lar fla If the course the groovegwill be inthe flared pol hich'is arranged between asmall annunge 13, and a larger annular flange 14. parts 10 and'11 are made integra'hof tion 10..

The

operating shaft of the machine ishori zontall'y disposed, and is designated 15, and

it is j portio 16, so 10 of shaft ournaled in the bearing- 9. n of this shaft is enlarged as shown at as to .bear against the flared portion the support, and the outer end of the is fixedly connected to a crank handle 17, which maybe secured to the shaft by any suitab The 1e means such as a screw 18.

pencll recelving tube orcutting head 19' is rigidly united with, and projects from the pa rt 16 of the shaft, and this tube or head haslateral wings 20, arranged on opposite sides of the axis of the shaft, and each pro with a curved or plane bearlng surface 7 vided ich merges into the tapered bore 22' of the tube'or cylinder, owing to the fact that slots 23 are provided in opposite sides of the tube. V

the shaft, so that theblades 24 of the machinery are inclined or properly positioned to shape a pencil end into conical form, when a pencil is inserted through the openend of the tube, and the shaft is rotated, while the pencil Eac is held from rotation. I 11 blade Qtmay be of the flexible don An inner ble-edged safety razor type, and as before stated, I intend to use for this purpose, ordinary safet-y razor blades which are too dull for use in shaving the face. Each of these blades bears upon the curved or flat surface 21 of one of the wings, and is held in curved or flat shape by means of a detachable curved or flat rigid metal plate 25, that may be se cured to the corresponding wing by any suitable means, such as athumb screw 26, which passes through the plate and blade, and screws into the wing 20. To prevent any rotation of either blade about its clamping screw as an axis, each wing has a pair of projecting studs or pins 27 that are rigidly mounted on the wing, and pass through the usual end holes in such blades, and through suitable apertures 28 in the clamping plate 25.

This novel form of cutting mechanism is combined with. av specially designed casing which includes an intermediate section 29, a top section 30, and a bottom section 31, The section 29 is in the form of a yoke, and comprises a transversely extending bar having an aperture 33 through which a pencil may be inserted into the mouth of the cylinder 19. Arms 34 extend inwardly from the cross bar 32, and terminate at their inner ends in oppositeflanges 35 having curved inner edges 36 which conform to the curvature of the groove 12 of the support. As the casing sections are made of sheet metal, which has some resiliency, it will be understood that the flanges 35 may be made to gri the ring 11 by simply pulling the inner en s of the arms 34 apart so as to clearthe flange 13, and then permit the flanges 35 to snap into the groove 12 and assume the posi, tion shown in Fig. 5. During such operation, the outer end of the cylinder 19 is projected through the hole 32 of the intermediate section of the casing.

In order that the cutting mechanism may be readily reached for the purpose of adjusting or changing the blades, the top section 30 of the casing is detachably mounted on the intermediate section, and for guiding the lower edges of the top section are bent inwardly to provide parallel grooves 37 which slidably engage tracks or flanges 88 which project outwardly from the upper edges of the. intermediate section. It will be noted that the top is of parti-cylindrical shape, and one of its ends is sector-shaped, as shown at 39. This end, when the casing is assembled, is in substantially the same plane as the cross bar 32 of the intermediate section.v The opposite end of the top is provided with an inwardly extending flange 40 that is adapted to clear the flange 13 when the top is pushed inwardly, but which comes to rest against the flange 14-for limiting the inward movement of the top.

The casing section 31 which forms the shavings receiving tray, is of trough-shape, and

its side edges terminate in grooved portions 41 which slidably engage outwardly extending parallel flanges 42 at the lower edges of the intermediate portionof the casing. The outer end 43 of the shavings receptacle, when the parts are assembled, is in the same plane as the end 39 of the top, so that the entire outer end of the casing is closed, but of course, the inner end of the shavings receptacle is cut away, as shown at 44, so as to clear the flange13, but to abut against the flange 14 of the frame.

As a further improvement, I may state that the tube 19 of the sharpener is to be made sufiiciently large to accommodate pencils of varying thicknesses, and for the purpose of supporting pencils of various sizes, while they are inserted in the tube, I provide the outer end of the intermediate section of the casing with a slide 45 having a plurality of different sized apertures 46, any one of which may be brought into register with the tube, by shifting the slide laterally on the casing. To allow for this sliding movement. the edges of the cross bar of the intermediate section are bent outwardly and toward each other, to provide grooves 47 to slidably receive upwardly and downwardly projecting flanges 48 of the slide.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the operation will be clear to those familiarwith devices of this character, but by way of further explanation, it may be stated that when the end of a pencil is inserted into the tube 19, the cutting edges of the blades will not only converge toward the axis of the tube, but they will be so arranged as to shape the end of the pencilinto cone form, when the handle 17 is operated, and the pencil is held from rotation. I have found in actual practice, that a pair of discarded razor blades, when used for this purpose. will be, eflicient for considerable time, and that they will sharpen the pencils without breaking the points of thelatter. Furthermore, it is a simple and easy matter to change or adjust the bladesrfor when the top 30 of the casing is removed, the internal mechanism is in plain view, and the thumb screws 26 can be easily reacheda I It is also quite simple with the present device to discard the shavings, for after the receptacle 31 has been filled, such receptacle may be removed by simply sliding the same off the guide flanges 42.

There is another feature in this device, to which reference should be made. As the groove 12 is circular in form, the casing will occupy a vertical position, regardless ot-tho position of the supporting frame, In other words, thesupporting frame can be mounted in an upright position on a table or the like; it may be secured to a vertical wall. or it may be suspended from a shelf or the like, and in rotary cutting head, and using razor blades as cutters, may be placed in a casing 101,

I which may form part of a desk pad or paper weight. In such embodiment, .a fixed screw 102 may project upwardly from the bottom of the casing and engage internal threads at the lower end of the cutting head, for the purpose of detachably fixing the latter within the casing. The casingmay be embellished on its exterior for ornamental purposes, and be provided'with a removable cap 103, having 7 a centrally disposed aperture to permit a pencil to be inserted into the tubular portion 104: of the cutting head.

In this form of the invention, the shavings may be removed after the cap 103 is taken OE, and when it is necessary to change or adjust theblades, the cutter head can be unscrewed from the screw. 102, and lifted upwardly through the open end of the casing.

Instead of arranging the cutter head vertically, the latter maybe arranged horizontally in a casing 200, as shown in Fig. 8, and in this embodiment, one end 201 of the casing may be detachable to allow for the discharge of chips, and for the removal of the cutter head to facilitate adjustment or changing of the blades. I

, The forms of the invention shown inFigs. 7 and 8 are intended to be part of any. desk equipment, and they need not be secured to the desk, but either may be held stationary by one hand, while the other hand is used to turn the pencil relatively to the cuttinghead, for sharpening purposes. While I have disclosed herein what I now consider to be a preferred embodiment of the invention in, such manner that the, construction, operation and advantages thereof may be readily understood, by those skilled in the art, I am aware that various changes may be made in the details disclosed, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as

I expressed in the claims.

Having fullydescribed my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i 1. A'pencil sharpener including a stationary casing, a stationary cutting head in the casing provided with a tubular portion having oppositely projecting wings and slots leading from the wings to the interior of the tubular portion, razor blades mounted on said wings and having cutting edges extending through said slots and converging toward the axis of the head, clamping plates bearing on said blades, and thumb screws securing the blades and plates to the wings, said wings being provided with means to prevent the blades from turning on the thumb screws.

2. A combination sharpener comprising a casing, a stationary cutting head detachably arrangedin the casing-and provided with a tubular portion, a wing projecting laterally from said tubular portion and having a bearing surface arranged at an angle to the axis of the tubular portion, and a blade detachably mountedon said wing, engaging said bearing surface, and having a cutting edge converging relatively to the axis of said head. p, I

3. A pencil sharpener, comprising a casing, a stationary cutting head, threaded means fixedly securing the cutting head to the casing,.said head being provided with a tubular portion, said casing including a removable cap having an aperture through which a pencil may be inserted into said tubular portion, a wing projecting laterally from said tubular portion and having a bearing surface arranged at an angle to the axis of the tubular portion, and a blade detach ably mounted on said wing, engaging said bearing surface, and having a cuttingedge converging relatively to the axis of said tubular portion. 7

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification. 

